What is the Harm in Size: Very Large Online Platforms in the Digital Services Act

After reviewing perspectives on size related to market dominance in section two, this paper returns to the roots of the harm principle as a justification for policy intervention. It then describes the concept of public harms and reveals the accumulative nature of some harms, especially societal ones. It examines the relationship between harm and benefit and the implications of the greater moral significance of harm. This is followed by a discussion of the positive obligations on states arising from fundamental rights and the harm of omission if these obligations are not fulfilled. The DSA’s approach to harm is a risk-based one that connects largeness with systemic risk in three area of potential harm. Section four, therefore examines the concept of systemic risk, drawing on financial sector regulation, where it originated, and then identifies two potential gaps in its application in the DSA. The fifth section the discusses the three categories of risk listed in the DSA as well as an additional category of risk, media plurality. The final section elaborates the recommendations and points for consideration.